Painted Crimson
by Reyser
Summary: Because he is everywhere. I cannot run away from him, I cannot hide. I cannot hide any longer from myself. He is everywhere, even in death, when myself and the world around me is painted crimson with my blood. Mirror, Mirror from Link's point-of-view. Includes character death. One-shot.


**Disclaimer: Do I even need to say it?**

**A/N: Since it seemed like a good idea (and people liked the idea) here is **_**Mirror, Mirror**_** told from Link's point-of-view! Be warned—this includes character death and violence.**

**However, there's no yaoi.**

**...**

I look into the mirror. Red eyes stare back at me, smiling faintly.

I can hear him calling, whispering my name. I do not respond. _Don't look at him, Link._ I swallow my pride and turn away, ignoring him completely.

What does he want? What can he possibly want from me? I ignore him. Perhaps, when I look back, he will be gone, and my own blue eyes will be staring back. The tension between us is suffocating me, and I close my eyes. Relax, Link. He can't hurt you any more than he already has.

There is a sudden smash and I jolt around, gasping. From the other side of the mirror, I see him. My shadow. He meets my eyes, and smirks. My vision of him is tainted by a ruthless crimson color, and I narrow my eyes. My fists clench threateningly, and I approach him.

Ruthless, red eyes stare back at me. Merciless. Hungry. My insides twist at the sight of him, and I give him a ferocious glare.

"You..." I snarl, anger burning deep inside me like a hungry flame, "What do you want?"

He laughs sadistically, and comes nearer. He's so close. Calm down, Link. He's just a shadow. He's just an illusion—he's just behind the mirror.

"You're so observant, Hero. Yes, 'tis _me._" The shadow laughs, a terrible kind of mirth behind his blood-red eyes. Even though he is just behind tainted glass, I still feel terror. "You know exactly what I want."

My insides lurch again. _Din damnit, Shadow! What else do you have to talk away from me? _

He is the last person I want to see. Everyone I hold dear is gone—Zelda was murdered, lying cold within a coffin—by the hands of a filthy shadow. Malon, the sweet and simple farm girl lies somewhere in the treacherous waters of Lake Hylia, staring up at the sky with dead eyes.

They are gone. All gone. Nobody is left to comfort me, to bring me back from the insane world that I live in. Perhaps, if things had been different, would they still be alive...?

No. It is his fault. It is that damn shadow's fault. His thirst for blood had to be quenched, and he killed them in place of me. For pointless, cruel revenge. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is a knife piercing Zelda, while I watch helplessly. All I can see is Malon, floating upon the lake, devoured by the fierce waves. Every time I listen, all I can hear are their screams. _Save me. _They scream agonizingly. They wait for a Hero who will never come.

_I'm sorry. _

I try to be strong, to be the Hero everyone believes I am. The darkened world of the other side of the mirror is covered with a sickening dark crimson. He cocks his head at me, and then scratches his bloody nails against the glass.

The sickening sound echoes in my ears, strangely resembling screams. He knows I look uncomfortable, and smirks at me.

I bite my lip. What does he possibly want? He is my greatest weakness...for he is me.

"No, shadow...I do not know..." I say, looking away tiredly. My life is a fight, to reclaim what I once had before he took it all away. What remains is the hollow shell of a former Hero, blue eyes searching for something that will never be found.

He shakes his head at me.

"Now, Hero. We are the same...is there really such need for formalities? You must call me Dark, or even better, brother."

He utters _brother _so mockingly. How dare he compare himself to me? He is a blood-thirsty shadow—I am a beyond that, I am a Hero.

"I am not your brother!" I shout, eyes narrowed. The wolf within me longs to jump out, the fierce animal. I struggle with myself, but stand my guard. He will not get the best of me.

He notices the wolf.

"Alas. You pain me, _brother._" He says overdramatically, sarcasm overflowing from his words in bittersweet honey. I look away.

Don't look at him, Link. Don't. Savage emotions rush through me, yet I know I am utterly helpless. And so is he. As long as he stays behind the mirror, I am safe...

"Why torment me?" I ask slowly. Gone. Everything is gone. What I once called joy, taken by the thief called death.

By the shadows of revenge and savage anger.

Maybe, if I had been stronger, if I had been quicker, would they still be alive? Would he be lying dead in a gruesome puddle of his own blood?

But alas, they are hopeless questions, for I will never know the answer.

"You have taken away everything I hold dear..." I say bitterly. I can do nothing but say the blood-soaked truth. "I have but nothing left. The Princess is dead, by your filthy hands. The farm girl lies somewhere in the water, looking up to the sky with dead eyes. What do I have left to give you?"

I do not expect an answer. But instead, he laughs, shoulders shaking with the strength of a madman.

Anger, fury, and fear flood in. Stay calm, Link. 'Tis just a game. If you outsmart him, if you last longer than him, then maybe you can win...but if you lose?

The uttermost penalty. Death.

"I have yet to take one thing from you, Hero." He answers calmly, and comes closer. Electric fear is jolting up my spine, but I stay strong and clutch my blade tighter.

We are almost touching...mirror images thrown together in a pointless war for life.

There is a look in his eyes, some sort of malicious hatred. A drop of cold sweat trickles down my face, and I wipe it away irritably.

"Stay back." I order, trying to stay strong. My voice is serenely calm, nothing like how I feel. I see his eyes drift to my blade, the Master Sword, and he raises an eyebrow. "I will not hesitate to strike you down where you stand."

His unheard laughter reverberates in my mind. Torment.

"But how so? You know as well as I do that this mirror is what stands between us." His answer is plain, as if he's planned it.

I do not answer. I cannot.

Damn this mirror. If it wasn't here, I would be able to attempt revenge on him. But this mirror is what stops him from doing the same. I give him a narrow-eyed glare, and try to calm the beast within me.

There is an insane kind of calm on his face, crimson eyes lost in the depth of thought.

"You know, brother..." He says slowly, as if awaiting my reaction, "Have you ever wondered what it's like to die?"

My eyes widen, and I grimace. Be strong Link. Be strong. He's just a shadow. As a Hero, a shadow should not scare you.

Stand tall.

"Have you?"He asks fiercely, and I see his hands gripping a knife. His knuckles are whitening.

He is a madman. I am certain of it. The smile painted gruesomely on his face is insane. His words are just ploys. Just parts of his insane little game. And you can win.

I try to be determined. I try to stand strong.

"There is one thing I want, Link. And that is to see you in pain." His words are vague, malicious. Yet his face is sinisterly calm.

"You've put me in enough pain—"I answer angrily, but he cuts me off.

"That is nothing compared to what I've felt!" He thunders, words fierce and piercing. Loud, but not so for my ears. "Do you know what it's like, Hero? Do you?"

I don't meet his eyes. I cannot answer. He acts as if I haven't felt any pain myself. He meets my gaze with those ruthless crimson eyes. He doesn't speak, but there is enough emotion behind those eyes.

Hatred, anger, the bitter longing for revenge.

Just a little bit longer. The game is almost over. I truly do not know what I hold on to. There is nothing left, but the beast inside has a longing to live. Such animalistic instincts.

He cocks his head once more, and smirks at me. The smirk stays, and he raises his knife.

_No. He can't. What is he doing?_ My eyes widen at him. I watch, petrified, as he lowers the knife to his wrist. He drags it across slowly, forming a long, deep cut. Crimson blood pours out, and he watches it drip onto the floor, before licking it up.

My eyes widen once more. He is so appalling.

"What—are—you?" I gasp, watching with terrified eyes as an identical cut is being formed on my wrist. The pain seeps through, and the blood begins to drip down, down, down.

_No. _

He and I are one. And he has found that the only way to kill me is to bring me down is to come along.

I cry out agonizingly, the pain slow. My mind is churning; I cannot comprehend his strange actions. Does he truly want to see my death so bad that he would die as well?

He marks a sickeningly deep cut across his chest, whilst laughing. It rips through my tunic, painting it crimson. The pain is agonizingly slow, yet steady. I gasp, because this time, there are no Goddesses to save me.

We are both like this, bleeding, dying. Except he accepts this, and is laughing all the while. I am certain.

He is deranged. Insane. A madman. Obsessed. Terrifying.

"You are _insane!_" I gasp. Every word I utter is strangled by pain. More blood falls, dripping on the floor. My once clean skin is marred and tainted with the blood of revenge.

I am dizzy with torment.

"This prison...'tis only natural for me to become insane, yes?" He answers cleverly, though he knows it is no time to be playing games.

He raises his knife to his cheek, awaiting my reaction. Stop. But I am helpless, just as before, at the mercy of a shadow. I can do nothing but accept it, but if I die, I will die fighting.

He makes a deep cut, the pain excruciating and slow. I raise my shaking hand to my cheek, fingering the cut, and lowering my bloody fingers.

He enjoys watching me writhe. Yet he stands, as if the pain barely affects him.

More and more cuts are created, and he is savouring every moment. I feel cut up like a marionette, dancing a terrible, crimson, dance.

I am on the floor, clutching myself tight, trying to shut everything out. But I can only hear his laughs, Malon and Zelda's screams. Another thing cuts through, loud. I realize that it's my own scream as I beg for mercy. My determination is ebbing away, as crimson begins to cloak me.

I look around, dazed. The ground is soaked with—the devastating color of my blood. Dark is the same, although he is laughing. I try to fight, but I know I cannot win.

Nayru, Din, Farore—have you forsaken your child?

Because he is everywhere. I cannot run away from him, I cannot hide. I cannot hide any longer from myself.

The struggle is helpless. I give up. I fall into the abyss of dizzying pain. As I succumb to anything but peaceful eternal sleep, I see one last thing.

A world painted crimson.

**- FIN –**

**A/N: This was a pain to write, since I had to keep going back to **_**Mirror, Mirror**_** to make sure I had the right details, but oh well. This story has a ton of puns about 'the game.'**

**Anyway, this is still pretty gruesome. x_x It might not be as gruesome as **_**Mirror, Mirror **_**but still—**

**Review, please! I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as—**


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